The increasing tourist interest in Albania appears to have directed greater attention to its related sectors.<\/p>\n
Recently, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment approved regulations related to the qualification programs for tourist guides and their accreditation process.<\/p>\n
The purpose of these regulations specifies that the focus is on \u201cdetermining and establishing the standards for the qualification programs of tourist guides in the Republic of Albania and approving the accreditation procedure, aiming to ensure the highest levels of knowledge, professional skills, and competencies of tourist guides during their activities\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Ministry specifies that the qualification programs for guides, ranging from local to national categories or special expertise, comply with the criteria of the tourism law. These programs are primarily offered by licensed entities in accordance with legislation for education and vocational training, and by personnel with the appropriate qualifications and experience for the specific module.<\/p>\n
Secondly, they are offered using updated teaching methodologies and materials, taking into account the needs of the relevant tourism industry sector and the latest technological developments. In all cases, trainees registering with the entities must have completed secondary education.<\/p>\n
The regulations state that entities offering tourist guide qualification programs acknowledge the prior documented learning of trainees and, if assessed by them, may exempt them from the obligation to follow specific modules of the qualification program on an individual basis.<\/p>\n
Article 5 of the regulation outlines the procedures for accrediting qualification programs for tourist guides.<\/p>\n
Firstly, the accreditation process for the qualification programs of tourist guides is based on the principle of self-assessment. Any entity seeking accreditation for the tourist guide qualification programs it offers conducts a self-assessment report.<\/p>\n
Section 2 of this article states that the qualification programs for tourist guides are accredited by a special structure established within the ministry responsible for tourism and approved by ministerial order, hereinafter referred to as the Accreditation Commission. At the end of the accreditation process, the ministry responsible for tourism approves or rejects the qualification program.<\/p>\n
The entity seeking accreditation for the tourist guide qualification programs it offers submits a self-assessment report or an online completed self-assessment report to the ministry responsible for tourism, along with supporting documents, including the detailed curriculum offered by the entity, and the qualifications and experience of the training personnel. For demonstrative tours during practical field training, trainers must be certified tourist guides.<\/p>\n
The Accreditation Commission reviews the self-assessment report and supporting documents no later than 7 working days from the application date.<\/p>\n
In case of deficiencies, inaccuracies in documentation, or non-compliance with standards as per section 3 of this article, the Accreditation Commission requests the entity to rectify the identified deficiencies within 15 working days.<\/p>\n
According to the regulations, after the deficiencies are rectified by the entity within the timeframe specified in section 5 of this article, the Accreditation Commission, within 3 working days, prepares a report with recommendations for granting or refusing accreditation, as well as evidence of findings. The report, in addition to recommendations and findings, includes, if any, recommendations for the entity regarding measures to be taken for further improvement of the quality of the qualification program it offers. These are advisory, and the entity has the freedom to decide on how to address the recommendations.<\/p>\n
In the case of non-compliance with the required documentation within the timeframe stipulated according to section 5 of this article, the Accreditation Commission decides to reject the application. The minister responsible for tourism, based on the recommendation of the Accreditation Commission, approves or denies the accreditation of the qualification program offered by the requesting entity. The accredited qualification program for tourist guides is valid for a period of 5 years.<\/p>\n
During the validity period of the accreditation, entities are inspected by the ministry responsible for tourism at least once a year to ensure continued compliance with the specified criteria, according to section 2 of article 3, and section 3 of article 5 of this order, and the recommendations given in the report. In case of verification of significant deficiencies, which, according to the assessment of the Accreditation Commission, cannot be rectified, the minister responsible is proposed to revoke the accreditation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The increasing tourist interest in Albania appears to have directed greater attention to its related sectors. Recently, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment approved regulations related to the qualification programs for tourist guides and their accreditation process. The purpose of these regulations specifies that the focus is on \u201cdetermining and establishing the standards for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":66987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[270,243,151,333,6758,6757],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n